WEST VIRGINIA CODE

(1) For a student enrolled in a state institution of higher
education, the annual award is equal to the lesser of the cost of
tuition or $4,750, except that a student who was awarded and used
a PROMISE scholarship annual award prior to January 1, 2010, shall
continue to receive the annual award calculated under the same
terms and conditions that applied on the day before the effective
date of this article;

(2) For a student enrolled in an eligible institution other
than a state institution of higher education, the annual award is
equal to, but may not exceed, the lesser of the cost of tuition or
$4,750, except that a student who was awarded and used a PROMISE
scholarship annual award prior to January 1, 2010, shall continue
to receive the annual award calculated under the same terms and
conditions that applied on the day before the effective date of
this article;

(3) The annual award may exceed $4,750, if the commission
determines that adequate funds are available, but in any case, may
not be greater than the actual cost of tuition;

(4) The annual award shall be used by an eligible institution
to supplement, but may not supplant, a tuition and fee waiver for
which the individual is eligible pursuant to section five, six-a, seven or seven-b, article ten, chapter eighteen-b of this code.

(b) The total cost of all scholarships awarded by the
commission in any year may not exceed the amount of funds available
to the commission during that fiscal year.

(c) In order to be eligible to receive a PROMISE scholarship
award an individual shall:

(1) Submit a scholarship award application to the commission:

(A) Within two years of graduating from high school or within
two years of acquiring a general equivalency degree if provided
instruction in the home or other approved place pursuant to
subsection (c), section one, article eight, chapter eighteen of
this code; or

(B) Within seven years of initially entering military service,
and within one year of discharge from military service, if the
individual has entered the United States armed services within two
years after graduating from high school;

(2) Apply for and submit a Free Application for Federal
Student Aid;

(3) Maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0
grading scale in the required core and elective course work
necessary to prepare students for success in post-secondary
education at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels as
determined by the commission, if the individual has completed not
more than one semester or term at an institution of higher
education, excluding credits earned in advanced placement, international baccalaureate, dual credit and comparable courses
while the student is enrolled in high school;

(4) Maintain appropriate academic progress toward the
completion of a degree at the undergraduate education level as
determined by the commission if the individual has completed more
than one semester or term at an institution of higher education,
excluding credits earned in advanced placement, international
baccalaureate, dual credit and comparable courses while the student
is enrolled in high school;

(5) Be a United States citizen or legal immigrant to the
United States;

(6) Meet additional objective standards the commission
considers necessary to promote academic excellence and to maintain
the financial stability of the fund; and

(7) Enroll in an eligible institution. A student enrolled at
an eligible institution who receives a PROMISE scholarship award
may retain and renew the scholarship to complete his or her
undergraduate education at that institution or any other eligible
institution under the following circumstances:

(A) The institution at which the student is enrolled loses its
status as an eligible institution pursuant to the provisions of
subdivision (1), subsection (b), section three of this article; and

(B) The student meets all other renewal requirements of this
code and of commission rules.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission shall strongly encourage prospective candidates for the PROMISE
scholarship to perform at least twenty hours of unpaid community
service while in high school to help prepare them for success in
post-secondary education. The community service may include, but
is not limited to, participation with nonprofit, governmental or
community-based organizations designed with any or all of the
following purposes:

(1) Improving the quality of life for community residents;

(2) Meeting the needs of community residents; or

(3) Fostering civic responsibility.

(e) The commission shall promulgate a legislative rule in
accordance with the provisions of article three-a, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code.

(1) The rule shall include at least the following provisions:

(A) The amount of a PROMISE scholarship award in combination
with aid from all other sources may not exceed the cost of
education at the institution the recipient is attending. This
provision does not apply to members of the West Virginia National
Guard, recipients of an Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship and
recipients of a West Virginia engineering, science and technology
scholarship;

(C) Provisions for making the highest and best use of the
PROMISE Scholarship Program in conjunction with the West Virginia
College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program Act set forth in
article thirty, chapter eighteen of this code;

(D) A provision defining the relationship of PROMISE
scholarship awards to all other sources of student financial aid to
ensure maximum coordination. The provision shall include the
following:

(ii) A requirement that PROMISE scholarship awards not
supplant tuition and fee waivers; and

(iii) Clarification of the relationship between the PROMISE
Scholarship Program, tuition savings plans and other state-funded
student financial aid programs;

(E) A method for awarding scholarships within the limits of
available appropriations, including circumstances when program
funds are not sufficient to provide awards to all eligible
applicants. The commission may not use any of the following
methods:

(i) Providing for an annual PROMISE scholarship award that is
less than the amounts provided for in this section; or

(ii) Eliminating any current recipient from eligibility; and

(F) A method for applicants to appeal determinations of
eligibility and renewal.

(2) The rule may provide for or require the following at the
commission's discretion:

(A) Requiring repayment of the amount of the scholarship, in
whole or in part, if a scholarship recipient chooses to work
outside the state after graduation. The rule may not require a
recipient to repay a scholarship, in whole or in part, unless the
prospective recipient has been informed of this requirement in
writing before initial acceptance of the PROMISE scholarship award;

(B) Targeting a portion of the scholarship funds to be used
for applicants enrolled in an engineering, science, technology or
other designated program;

(C) Determining what other sources of funding for higher
education are to be deducted from the PROMISE scholarship award;
and

(D) Providing additional criteria as determined by the
commission.

(3) The Legislature finds that an emergency exists and,
therefore, the commission shall file a rule to implement the
provisions of this section as an emergency rule pursuant to the
provisions of article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
The rule is subject to the prior approval of the Legislative
Oversight Commission on Education Accountability.

(4) Any rule promulgated by the commission pursuant to previous enactments of this article in effect on the effective date
of the amendment and reenactment of this article in the year 2009
remains in effect until amended, modified, repealed or replaced by
the commission.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.